Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

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Finland in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Participating broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle)
CountryFlag of Finland.svg  Finland
Selection processArtist: Internal selection
Song:Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu2019
Selection dateArtist: 29 January 2019
Song: 2 March 2019
Competing entry
Song"Look Away"
Artist Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman
Songwriters
  • Ville Virtanen
  • Sebastian Rejman
Placement
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (17th)
Participation chronology
◄201820192020►

Finland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Look Away" written and performed by Ville Virtanen under the stage name Darude and Sebastian Rejman. The Finnish participating broadcaster, Yleisradio (Yle), organised the national final Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu2019 in order to select its entry for the contest, after having previously selected the performers internally. Three songs were selected to compete in the national final on 2 March 2019 where the 50/50 combination of votes from eight international jury groups and votes from the public selected "Look Away" as the winning song.

Contents

Finland was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 14 May 2019. Performing during the show in position 3, "Look Away" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Finland placed seventeenth (last) out of the 17 participating countries in the semi-final with 23 points.

Background

Prior to the 2019 contest, Yleisradio (Yle) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Finland fifty-two times since its first entry in 1961. [1] It has won the contest once in 2006 with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed by Lordi. In 2018, "Monsters" performed by Saara Aalto managed to qualify to the final for the first time since 2014 and placed twenty-fifth.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, Yle organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its intentions to participate at the 2019 contest on 13 September 2018. [2] Yle had selected its entries for the contest through national final competitions that have varied in format over the years. Between 1961 and 2011, a selection show that was often titled Euroviisukarsinta highlighted that the purpose of the program was to select a song for Eurovision. However, since 2012, the broadcaster has organised the selection show Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), which focuses on showcasing new music with the winning song being selected as the Finnish entry for that year. In 2018, Yle opted to internally select the artist with the song selected through Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, a procedure that continued for the entry for the 2019 contest as announced by the broadcaster along with its participation confirmation. [2]

Before Eurovision

Artist selection

Yle announced that they had internally selected DJ Darude and singer Sebastian Rejman to represent Finland in Tel Aviv during a live streamed press conference on 29 January 2019, hosted by Krista Siegfrids, who represented Finland in 2013, Mikko Silvennoinen and Christoffer Strandberg. It was also announced during the press conference that their song would be selected through Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu2019 with three songs competing. [3]

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu2019

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu2019 was the eighth edition of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), the music competition that selects Finland's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The three competing songs along with their promotional music videos were presented on 8, 15 and 22 February 2019, respectively, while the final took place on 2 March 2019 at the Logomo in Turku and hosted by Krista Siegfrids, Mikko Silvennoinen and Christoffer Strandberg. [3] The show was broadcast on Yle TV2, online at yle.fi/umk and via radio with commentary in Swedish by Eva Frantz and Johan Lindroos on Yle X3M. [4] All three competing songs were performed by Darude and Sebastian Rejman and "Look Away" was selected as the winning song by a 50/50 combination of public votes and eight international jury groups from the United Kingdom, Norway, Spain, Czech Republic, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark, and Israel. The viewers and the juries each had a total of 240 points to award. Each jury group distributed their points as follows: 8, 10 and 12 points. The viewer vote was based on the percentage of votes each song achieved through the following voting methods: telephone, SMS and online voting. For example, if a song gained 10% of the viewer vote, then that entry would be awarded 10% of 240 points rounded to the nearest integer: 24 points.

In addition to the performances of the competing songs, the interval act featured Danish Eurovision Song Contest 2013 winner Emmelie de Forest performing her winning Eurovision entry "Only Teardrops". [5] The competition was watched by 358,000 viewers in Finland. [6]

Final – 2 March 2019
DrawSongSongwriter(s)JuryTelevoteTotalPlace
1"Release Me" Ville Virtanen, Jaakko Manninen  [ fi ], Brandyn Burnette7019893
2"Superman"Ville Virtanen, Chris Hope, Thom Bridges74731472
3"Look Away"Ville Virtanen, Sebastian Rejman 961482441
Detailed International Jury Votes
DrawSong
United Kingdom
Norway
Spain
Czech Republic
Sweden
Ireland
Denmark
Israel
Total
Flag of the United Kingdom.svgFlag of Norway.svgFlag of Spain.svgFlag of the Czech Republic.svgFlag of Sweden.svgFlag of Ireland.svgFlag of Denmark.svgFlag of Israel.svg
1"Release Me"8810101088870
2"Superman"101088810101074
3"Look Away"121212121212121296
International Jury Spokespersons

Promotion

Darude and Sebastian Rejman made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Look Away" as the Finnish Eurovision entry. On 6 April, Darude and Sebastian Rejman performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the AFAS Live venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Marlayne. [7] On 14 April, they performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Café de Paris venue in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell. [8] On 19 April, Darude and Rejman performed during the PreParty ES event which was held at the Sala La Riviera venue in Madrid, Spain and hosted by Julia Varela and Tony Aguilar. [9]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2019, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Finland was placed into the first semi-final, held on 14 May 2019, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show. [10]

Once all the competing songs for the 2019 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Finland was set to perform in position 3, following the entry from Montenegro and preceding the entry from Poland. [11]

The two semi-finals and the final were televised in Finland on Yle TV2 with a second audio program providing commentary in Finnish by 2013 Finnish Eurovision entrant Krista Siegfrids and Mikko Silvennoinen and in Swedish by Eva Frantz and Johan Lindroos. The three shows were broadcast via radio with Finnish commentary by Sanna Pirkkalainen and Toni Laaksonen in the two semi-finals and by Sanna Pirkkalainen and Sami Sykkö in the final on Yle Radio Suomi. [12] The Finnish spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Finnish jury during the final, was Christoffer Strandberg.

Semi-final

Sebastian Rejman during a rehearsal before the first semi-final ESC2019 - Finland.jpg
Sebastian Rejman during a rehearsal before the first semi-final

Darude and Sebastian Rejman took part in technical rehearsals on 4 and 9 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 13 and 14 May. This included the jury show on 13 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

The Finnish performance featured Darude with a DJ mixing table on a platform to the left of the stage and Sebastian Rejman performing on the triangular catwalk, joined by a female dancer performing a choreographed routine on a raised platform in the centre of the stage. The LED screens displayed images showing global warming and the dancer appearing underwater as she at times disappear from the stage. [13] [14] The female dancer that joined Darude and Sebastian Rejman on stage was Etel Röhr and additional off-stage backing vocals were provided by Heini Ikonen, Matti Leino and Petri Somer. [15]

At the end of the show, Finland was not announced among the top 10 entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Finland placed seventeenth (last) in the semi-final, receiving a total of 23 points: 14 points from the televoting and 9 points from the juries. [16]

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final. [17]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Finland and awarded by Finland in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to Finland

Points awarded to Finland (Semi-final 1) [18]
ScoreTelevoteJury
12 pointsFlag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 pointsFlag of Greece.svg  Greece
3 points
2 pointsFlag of Iceland.svg  Iceland
1 pointFlag of Poland.svg  Poland

Points awarded by Finland

Detailed voting results

The following members composed the Finnish jury: [17]

  • Susanna Vainiola (jury chairperson) music journalist, radio DJ
  • Eva Louhivuori musician
  • Lasse Wikman  [ fi ] singer, songwriter, lyricist
  • Samuli Sirviö  [ fi ] producer, songwriter, musician
  • Janne Hyöty songwriter, composer, producer, musician
Detailed voting results from Finland (Semi-final 1) [18]
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
E. LouhivuoriL. WikmanS. SirviöS. VainiolaJ. HyötyRankPointsRankPoints
01Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 1311151661214
02Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro 15131414161616
03Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
04Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 16221221056
05Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 10153536547
06Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 335373865
07Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 48911510192
08Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 7141213131412
09Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 92712983101
10Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 117111159211
11Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia 1210131581315
12Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 2414111238
13Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 59106474112
14Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 61681056210
15Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal 81289141183
16Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 1454724713
17Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino 16161610111574
Detailed voting results from Finland (Final) [19]
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
E. LouhivuoriL. WikmanS. SirviöS. VainiolaJ. HyötyRankPointsRankPoints
01Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 11161531710122
02Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 21222315262319
03Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 10108967415
04Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1519621211826
05Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 239122051474
06Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 18121010141711
07Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino 25262426252614
08Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia 6841844717
09Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 3321111247
10Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 720561156101
11Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 24232225182421
12Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 223733865
13Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 177211181524
14Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 1914723221920
15Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 13618221016210
16Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 14182017132025
17Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 1211912712112
18Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 205171391338
19Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 22242524202523
20Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 815114129216
21Flag of France.svg  France 16171316192113
22Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 525192246583
23Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 941614151118
24Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 421145168392
25Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1118221056
26Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 26132619232212

References

  1. "Finland Country Profile". EBU . Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Finland announces date of UMK 2019 final, show will involve only one artist". wiwibloggs. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  3. 1 2 "It's Darude for Finland this year!". eurovision.tv. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  4. "Näin äänestät UMK19: Darude -show:ssa suosikkikappalettasi - lataa yle.fi-sovellus kännykkääsi!". Yle (in Finnish). 27 February 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  5. Granger, Anthony (1 February 2019). "Finland: Emmelie De Forest Named As Guest Act for UMK 2019". Eurovoix. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  6. "Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman (Finland)". ESCKAZ. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  7. "This was Eurovision in Concert 2019 in Amsterdam". Eurovision.tv. 6 April 2019.
  8. "18 Eurovision acts to perform in London on Sunday 14 A[p]ril". Eurovision.tv. 13 April 2019. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  9. García, Belén (25 March 2019). "PreParty ES 2019: New hosts and acts announced". ESCplus. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  10. Jordan, Paul (28 January 2019). "Eurovision 2019: Which country takes part in which Semi-Final?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  11. "Exclusive: This is the Eurovision 2019 Semi-Final running order!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  12. Herbert, Emily (24 April 2019). "Finland: Krista Siegfrids Joins Mikko Silvennoinen in the Eurovision Commentary Booth". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  13. "Don't 'Look Away' from Finland's first rehearsal in Tel Aviv". eurovision.tv. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  14. "Don't 'Look Away'! Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman is back for Finland". eurovision.tv. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  15. "Finland". Six on Stage. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  16. "Suomi putosi jatkosta Euroviisuissa: "Harmittaa vietävästi"". hs.fi. Helsingin Sanomat. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  17. 1 2 Groot, Evert (30 April 2019). "Exclusive: They are the judges who will vote in Eurovision 2019!". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  18. 1 2 3 "Results of the First Semi-Final of Tel Aviv 2019". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Results of the Grand Final of Tel Aviv 2019". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.